CENSUS 2016: Fewer non-nationals living in Donegal

There has been a decline of almost 11% in the number of non-nationals living in Donegal, the latest data from Census 2016 has revealed.

In Census 2016, 11,473 Donegal residents indicated that they were non-Irish nationals, a decline of 1,404 (10.9%) on 2011.

The data also shows that the smallest proportion of non-nationals in the country, live in Donegal. 7.3% of Donegal’s population is made up of non-nationals. This figure is in comparison to 8.1% in 2011.

In a profile on Migration and Diversity issued today, the Central Statistics Office also shows that more than half of the county’s non-Irish national residents were UK nationals (5,860). Together with these, nationals of Poland, Lithuania, India and America accounted for 77% of all non-Irish nationals living in Donegal.

Nationally, non-Irish nationals made up 11.6% of the overall population.

Recent residents

In the year to Census 2016, some 2,065 people moved into the county, an increase of 446 (27.6%) on the year before Census 2011. Of these, 1,360 (65.9%) were born outside of the country.

Below is a summary of some of the headline results from Census 2016 for County Donegal, together with comparisons for Ulster (part) and the State as a whole:

The national picture

The report reveals some fascinating facts and figures nationally. There are people from 200 different nations living in Ireland. The report shows that, in April 2016, there were 535,475 non-Irish nationals living in the country, a 1.6% decrease on the 2011 figure of 544,357. The numbers of people holding dual citizenship (Irish-other country) increased by 87.4% to 104,784 persons.

Commenting, Deirdre Cullen, Senior Statistician, said: “This report gives a detailed insight into the many different nationalities living in Ireland, including their age profile, marital status, the languages they speak, and their educational and employment status. Non-Irish nationals and those with dual nationality are now well established in Irish society and communities throughout the country, and this report provides a wealth of information on their social and economic circumstances in April 2016.”

Country of Origin

The 535,475 non-Irish nationals living in Ireland in April 2016 came from 200 different nations. Polish nationals were the largest group with 122,515 persons followed by 103,113 UK nationals and 36,552 Lithuanians.

Just twelve nations each with over 10,000 residents – America, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Spain and the UK – accounted for 73.6% of the total non-Irish national population.

Dual Irish Nationals

The number of people holding dual Irish nationality increased by 87.4% to 104,784 persons. Of these Irish-Americans (17,552) comprised the largest group, followed by Irish-UK (15,428) and Irish-Polish (9,273). 63.4% (66,440 persons) who identified as dual Irish nationality were born abroad.

Where do non-Irish nationals reside?

Dublin City (91,876), Fingal (46,909) and Cork County (42,002) had the largest numbers of non-Irish national residents while Leitrim (3,526) and Sligo (5,892) had the lowest. Among the cities, Galway was the most multicultural, with 18.6% of its resident population recorded as non-Irish. Just over 17% of Dublin City residents and one in six of Fingal residents were non-Irish nationals.

Only eight counties showed an increase in their non-Irish national population since Census 2011. Cork City saw the largest increase (17.2% or 2,505 persons) followed by Longford at 9.1% or 502 persons.

Looking at nationality by towns, Ballyhaunis in Mayo had the highest proportion of non-Irish nationals with 941 persons representing 39.5% of its population. The two next highest were both in Longford – Edgeworthstown with 32.3% (667 persons) and Ballymahon with 32.1% (599 persons).

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